


Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

by nimblermortal



Series: Before They Were Gods [7]
Category: Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: Babies, Birth, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 04:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1331305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimblermortal/pseuds/nimblermortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki's relationship with Frigg is if anything more competitive than his relationship with Odin. Frigg, at least, will extend the battle to the bearing of children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Loki was present at Thor’s birthing. In later years, he would never fail to remind Thor of this.

Odin was fretful. He strode in and out of the room, trying to stay by Frigga’s side, grasping her hand hard enough that both of them trembled. Eventually, he would give up and storm out, having to push past Loki as he did so. Loki stood in the doorway, unmoving, a tall, thin shadow. He had borrowed Odin’s hat, or Odin had hung it on him, but he had it pushed high enough that Frigga could just see his eyes.

He stood there for the entire labor, and the whole time, Frigga looked past Odin’s shoulder to Loki, standing unmoving, as dull as a spot on the wall except for his eyes, which remained locked on hers, and would still have been boring except that they were sharp with scorn.

Once, somewhere in the middle or perhaps near the end, he did move, just after Odin left, as they were somehow, briefly alone. He strode around Frigga’s bed and eyed her with disdain.

“Is this how the Æsir give birth,” he sneered. Frigga gasped with anger.

“I should like to see you try it!” she snapped.

Loki shrugged lazily. “I did. _I_ gave birth to twin -” which might have infuriated Frigga further if he had not added - “kids.” Frigga rolled her eyes.

“Perhaps Æsir babies are more difficult,” she said. Loki shrugged and returned to his place by the door just as the midwife came in, and Odin only a few feet behind her. But when Frigga looked over again, Loki’s eyes were on her again, and she thought she could still hear that word, that challenge in them: _twins_. She would not be bested by a runty, brattish frost giant.

Loki was there when Thor crowned, and when he was taken from his mother. He was there when Odin turned, beaming, holding his son, looking for his brother’s approval. Loki only shrugged, again disdainful.

“I doubt he’ll ever amount to much,” he said, and walked away. He did not reappear, even for the celebrations afterward, which was most unusual; he rarely missed a chance to remind everyone of the place he had won by trading blood with the All-Father. He was missing for years afterward, a decade. When he returned, he had to be told Thor’s name, but he only shrugged, repeating his former pronouncement. He would not tell anyone where he had been; but he snuck into Frigga’s chambers that night and lay beside her in her bed.

“And?” she said in the tired darkness.

“It was not nearly so difficult as you made out,” Loki said, but he had vanished before she could light the lamp.

“Birthing an As child,” she made sure to say later, in front of the whole hall, “is different from birthing a human. Even humans manage the latter.”

But she did not see Loki among the mead-drinkers, and she tried to quash her disappointment.


End file.
